


Thin Ice

by Seitou (lady_date)



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Gen, Gundam Wing Holiday Gift Exchange 2020, Let them be children, Not Frozen Teardrop Compliant, Sally give off gives off big sister vibes, Trans Female Character, Trans Sally, no beta we die like men, this is mostly fluff, unintentional deadnaming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:53:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28789035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_date/pseuds/Seitou
Summary: Sally believes there are things everyone should experience at least once.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10
Collections: GW Holiday Gift Exchange 2020, Gundam Wing Holiday Matters 2020





	Thin Ice

It had come up more or less out of the blue. Most of the agents were excited for their upcoming break (those who were taking it.) Someone, Sally couldn’t remember who, had been talking about activities or sports to do now that winter had hit Preventers HQ and the surrounding area.

Ice Skating.

Sally had been half buried in a case file, searching for some missing photos when she heard it. Had it really been that long since she’d gone? Before she could dwell on that thought for long she heard something else

“I’ve never been.” 

She froze and slowly turned towards the voice like they had slapped her across the face and called her mother a whore.

It was Heero not even bothering to look up from his computer screen as he typed away.

“What was that?” She hoped she didn’t sound as offended as he felt. 

“I said I’ve never been.” He let his eyes flicked to her for a moment before going back to the screen. “I’ve never ice skated before.” He clarified what every confusion was radiating from her.

“Neither have I.” She snapped her head around to Trowa, the tall youth bringing in a tray of hot drinks, snow still sticking to his coat from outside.

“Used to see the rich kids on L2 do it. Looked dumb in my opinion.” Duo snorted from his position on the office couch, head on the seat and legs dangling off the back. His grin took on a sour note as he gazed at the holder in his hands.

Sally looked between the remaining two pilots. Quatre, visiting between his other duty, met her gaze with a half shrug and soft “once.” Wufei meanwhile glared holes into the top of Duo’s head. Probably because he had his feet on the wall.

“So let me get this straight. None of you have been ice skating?” She received a chorus of negative answers. 

She leaned back against the filing cabinet to take in the men in front of her. They were young, not even out of boyhood, but they had seen and done so much. The idea that something as normal as ice skating was forgein to them felt wrong somehow. She was reminded, not for the first time, that their lives had been, and continue to be, anything but normal. Ice Skating wasn’t exactly a survival skill after all.

“Ms. Sally?” Quatre’s voice and hand on her arm pulled her from her thoughts. They watched her with varying degrees of curiosity or confusion. When had she closed her eyes? She threw a reassuring smile to Quatre.

“Sorry, spaced out for a moment. Are you all busy Saturday?”

Turned out they weren’t. Finding a rink to take them to hadn’t been the problem for Sally. It was finding a rink that met the security standards of 5 paranoid teenagers. Not only did she find one, she managed to get the space reserved before Thursday. 

She mentally patted herself on the back as she watched the pilots shuffle into the mostly empty stadium, then had to do a double take at four bodies that followed them in.

“Hope ya don’t mind some extra company.” Duo grinned as Hilde shoved him forwards playfully. Behind them Relena, a red-head she assumed was Trowa’s infamous sister Cathy, and a face she hadn’t seen in a very long time. 

Sally’s eyes locked with Iria’s as she broke out into a grin. “The more the merrier.” After that it was a blur of chatting as everyone got their skates and moved onto the ice. Now, when it came to the Gundam pilots, she’d seen them do some remarkable things. She never knew what to expect with them. Without fail the gundam pilots managed to surprise her. This time was no different and, oh, what a spectacle it was to behold.

One would think, after years of walking tightropes and swinging from trapeze that Trowa would have no problem skating, may even be a natural at it. So seeing him with a death grip on Quatre’s shoulders, knock-kneed as a newborn baby deer as he tries to shuffle his way from one side of the rink to the other. Cathy, not far away, held onto the wall and snickering openly at her brother. Speaking of Wall hugging…

Heero, who normally did things with the kind of confidence most dreamed of, was huddled against the wall half way around the rink. The knees of his jeans were already damp from where he’d fallen. Relena was hovering nearby offering encouragement, which only seemed to frustrate him further, if the glare was anything to go by. He tried to stand only for Duo to sweep them out from under him when he passed.

Duo was clearing taking to this like a goose to water. He found his rhythm quickly and was making great strides with it. Moving faster and faster as he raced Hilde around the rink. Sally didn’t think she’d seen him stop yet.

But the biggest surprise was Wufei. The former pilot of Shenlong moved over the ice like he was made for it. Twisting and spinning with ease around the stiff Trowa and fumbling Heero. Dodging Duo’s attempt to trip him with the skill of someone who’d done so before. She could stop the bell laugh as Wufei spun and used the momentum to send Duo sailing full speed into Heero, bowling them both over.

“You know for having gone through all the trouble of getting the boys out on the ice you are certainly taking your time in getting out there yourself.” It had been six or seven years since Sally had seen Iria last, just before the colony had been put on lock down. She was happy to see her friend had made it through the madness, especially after hearing what happened on L4. 

She met her with a half smile and a shrug. “All in good time. Have to see how they handle themself first.”

“More like you don’t want to get caught in the crossfire.” Iria jerked her thumb towards the chaos on the ice. 

“That too.” Heero was up right now, and chasing Duo around the rink. Wufei had moved on from taunting Duo, Heero and Trowa to helping Cathy get moving. Hilde and Relena were laughing as they held each other’s hands and spun in circles.

“So… do I call you Simon or Sally?”

Simon… That was a name Sally hadn’t heard in a long, lone time. She leaned back from where she’s been watching to admire her former classmate. They’d been young when they met, Sally still figuring things out and Iria spreading her wings for the first time. Iria knew things about Sally that no one living did, and Sally knew things about Iria that she would never tell a soul, let alone her family. When they’d parted ways, Sally still answered to Simon.

“It’s officially Sally now.”

“Good.” Iria and Quatre were definitely siblings. They spoke with the same blunt positivity. “ It suits you better.” Sally had missed it. 

“Anyway I can convince you to join me out there?”

“Nope. Someone has to be ready when one of them eats it.” As if to prove her point, Heero and Duo skated passed them at top speed. Quatre and Trowa found themselves caught up by Hilde and Relena’s widening circle. Trowa clearly still shaky but was doing larger than baby steps now. Wufei was moving backwards, Cathy’s hands his as they slowly made the circuit around the rink.

“A fair point.” She laughed. And saluted her before taking to the ice herself. 

And it felt good. Moving over the frozen surface, twisting and shifting passed the other and tossing out occasional bits of advice. It had really been too long since she’d done this.

There were not many traditions that Sally Po held rigorously. Between her father’s constant traveling and her mother busy with her practice, and Sally’s own medical schooling later, they were rarely together as a family. They celebrated the major holidays sure, and those times were special, there was almost always someone missing. There was one thing, every year, that they would do as a family. And that was ice skating. It didn’t matter when in winter they did it, Christmas, Solar New Years, Lunar New Year, hell Valentine’s Day. What mattered was that they went as a family. Her parents made sure to take at least one day off just for that. But they were gone now. Taken by illness and war, neither of which Sally could prevent. 

Sally slowed from out of spin and opened her eyes

In front of her, the skate circle had gotten bigger, having pulled in Duo, Heero, and Cathy. As they skated around in a lazy circle, joined at the hand, she could see the tired, flushed smiles, the weary grins, and barely contained laughs. On the edge of the ice Iria was watching, smiling much like the first time the desert princess had accompanied Sally and her family. 

She felt more than saw Wufei stop beside her.

“I’ll admit I was trepidatious when you suggested this.” He watched his co-workers, their friends, get more comfortable on the ice. Hilde yanking Duo’s braid when he tries to trip Heero again. “But I’m glad you did. I haven’t done this in a long time.” 

She wanted to ask when he’s learned, how long it had been since he’s skated. But now wasn’t the time. Best save for later, when she knew Wufei would appreciate the quiet. For now…

“Wufei! Sally! Get in here!” Wufei was already off, slipped in between Quatre and Relena. For now she was just going to enjoy the time with her family. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift for Loki on the Gundam Wing Discord Server. I hope you enjoy it lovely.


End file.
